True Awakening
by Sleeper-Agent
Summary: SydVaughn. Somewhere in Season 3. Sorry, we're not good at summaries, read to find out!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters or anything related to the show they belong to J.J. Abrams so please don't sue us cause we have no money!!!!

Summary: This story could easily take place somewhere in the third season. Syd has lost her memory and is trying to reconstruct her life after her two-year absence. In this story Syd will learn that that life is not always as it seems and a lot more went on in those two years then she could have ever imagined possible. 

Pairings: S/V, Syd/Other, Vaughn/Lauren

Romance/Angst. R-Rated

Chapter One:

Pain comes in many forms. Pain can be dull, aching, sharp, and burning to name a few. The first thing she remembered was the pain. Sydney Bristow awoke to the sharp, burning pain of light trying to penetrate through her heavy eyes. A familiar sense of disorientation washed over her, making her heart rate nearly triple. The last time she had this feeling, Sydney Bristow woke up in an alley in Hong Kong with two years stolen from her life. 

Sydney's first attempts at opening her eyes were met with resistance from the prying lights that surrounded her. Upon blinking away the sleep, the first thing Syndey noticed was that she was in a room that was alien to her. The room was small and smelled stale. The light caught the dust dancing through the air and a sneeze tickled at Syd's nose. There were no windows to indicate whether it was day or night. Syd's eyes moved up toward the ceiling to a large, brown water stain. (No doubt caused by a leaky roof). The wallpaper had faded to yellow and was peeling in places. Syd noticed that, aside from the bed she lay on, the only other piece of furniture in the room was an old wooded rocker that had been pulled up next to the bed. _Had someone been watching over me? But why? And who?_ This thought gave Syd a small sense of comfort deep down. The feeling slowly brought down her heartrate and she began taking slower breaths. Thirst burned at the back of her throat. _Water. I need water._

As Syd tried to pull herself up, she realized for the first time that she was unable to move. Looking down at her body, she noticed that her arms and legs had been strapped to the bed. Panic quickly flooded over her again. Syd tried to call out but could only muster up a whisper. The burning in her throat intensified and brought tears to her eyes. She began to struggle against the restraints but the more she fought, the more their grasp tightened around her. In her fight for freedom, Syd never heard the footsteps approaching from outside of the room, nor did she realize that she was no longer alone. 

Fear comes in many forms. Fear can be nervous butterflies the when person you have a crush on walk's by or the feeling you get when you hear a noise in the dark night. For Sydney Bristow, the fear of hearing her mother's voice sent a cold shiver down her spine. Sydney stopped fighting the restraints and looked up toward the bedroom door. Standing, silhouetted in the doorway, was her mother. Irina Derevko.

"Hello, Sydney."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

(ONE MONTH EARLIER)

Sydney Bristow could barely remember the events of the past 48 hours. A fog clouded her mind as she tried to think back to the beginning of this nightmare. _That's what this has to be. _She thought. _This is what nightmares are made of, right?_ Waking up, not knowing where you are, cold and shivering, only to realize that you are in a dark ally. It took Sydney several long minutes before she even realized that she was in a foreign country. Several more minutes ticked by before she discovered that she was in Hong Kong. _But how?_

At some point, her subconscious must have taken over because she was able to fumble her way to a payphone, and call the first person she could think of to help her. Her father, Jack, had given her directions to a safe house where she was to stay until he arrived. Warm food, a hot shower, and a tearful embrace with her father, as he walked in the door of the safe house, were the only things that Sydney could be sure of. That, and she was now in a plane that was taking her back to her life. Or so she thought. 

As she looked out over the water, Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her seat. A sharp pain stabbed at her right side. An inch long scar on her lower abdomen was the culprit. The doctor, whom examined Sydney before she left Hong Kong, noted that it couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. The fact that Sydney had no idea what caused the scar bothered her more than the pain. She needed some answers.

Sydney needed to talk to her father. He had been quick to get her to a doctor and then on the plane. Sydney and her father hadn't even had a chance to talk. The instant they boarded the plane, Jack had ushered Syd to her seat, made sure she was strapped in, kissed her on the forehead, and told her he'd be back to check on her. He walked to the back of the plane, where the rest of the extraction team had assembled. Jack then began to quietly go over the procedure for getting Sydney off the plane and to a safe destination once they were back in L.A. 

Just as Sydney reached down to unbuckle her seatbelt, she felt something grip her shoulder. She looked up to see her dad smiling down at her. She felt the tears well up in her eyes as she smiled back at him. Jack moved in from behind Sydney and sat in the seat across from her. He took both her hands into his and gave them a little squeeze.

"Hey sweetheart." Jack said in a soft tone. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hide the concern in his voice or the look of worry on his face. But he tried.

" How are you holding up?" 

Sydney tried not to let her weariness slip into her response. 

"Fine, I think. Dad…" Sydney paused. So many thoughts were crashing over each other, that Syd needed a second to gather herself before continuing. 

"What was I doing in Hong Kong? How did I get there? How long have I been there? What happened to Francie? Dad, the last thing I remember was fighting with Francie's double. What happened to Will? Is he alive? Where's Vaughn?" Sydney stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it were breaking through her chest. 

Jack sat there, still holding on to his daughter's hands, looking into to her wide eyes. _How the hell am I going to tell her? What am I going to tell her? _Now it was Jack who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Avoiding his daughter's wild gaze, Jack struggled to find words.

"Sydney, I know you must have a million questions, and I will do my best to answer them. But before I do, there is something I need to know first. Do you have _any_ idea where you've been for the last two years?" Jack kept his eyes on Sydney's, to gage her response. She brushed back her long brown hair and tucked it back behind her right ear. Sydney's eyes widen in a look of shock. _This is what I was afraid of. She doesn't remember._ Jack thought.

"_T-two… TWO YEARS?_" Sydney's voice rose as panic washed over her. Her head began to swim as she tried to conceive of what her father had just said. _Two Years? _While Sydney was lost in confusion, the plane hit an air pocket, causing it to dip suddenly. The unexpected jolt brought Sydney back from her trance. She blinked and looked back at her father.

" I have been gone two years?" She asked her father, still confused. 

Jack let go of her hands and looked toward the back of the plane where his small team of men had been gathered. They were all busy with the assignment Jack had given them. None of them seemed to even notice that Jack and Sydney where in the plane. _Good. _He thought.Jack's eyes fell back on Sydney. He leaned back, and lowered his voice to a whisper that only Syd could hear.

"Honey…" he began, but Sydney interrupted.

"Wait a minute. The last thing I remember, before waking up in that alley, was fighting with Fancie's double in our apartment. That was two days ago. How could it be that I lost two years of my life?"

"Sydney…" Jack whispered again.

" I want you to listen to me very carefully and I need you to try to remain calm."

She was shocked that her father would even think that she could remain calm. Sydney began to protest but was stopped short when Jack raised his hand up to silence her. It was at this point that Sydney realized that something was very wrong. Fear crept up on Sydney like the light creeps up on darkness. She took a deep breath and tried to gain some control over her emotions. Syd leaned forward to ensure no one overheard them.

"Dad, you're scaring me. Why are you avoiding answering my questions?"

"Honey, this situation is very complicated. We are trying to piece together the bits of information we have so far, and I was hoping that you would be able to remember anything that would help us do just that. Right now, we have more questions than we have answers." He stopped for a moment to make sure that he Sydney was still following what he was saying. She was hanging of every word.

" All we know at this point is that sometime before the fight with that woman in your apartment, Francie was double, killed, and replaced." Jack hated to be the one to confirm the death of his daughter's best friend. Sydney looked down and blinked back the tears that began to pool in her eyes at the mention of Francie's death. Jack continued.

" Some time after the fight in you apartment, it caught fire. Two bodies were pulled from the ashes. DNA testing matched one of the bodies to you. There was no murder investigation because the fire department deemed the fire an accident and that you and Francie must have died in your sleep. I believed otherwise."

"What made you believe that I was alive?" Sydney asked.

"Being married to your mother has taught me not to take what people say as gospel. Just because a death certificate says someone is dead, doesn't mean much to me these days. I needed to prove to myself that you were dead or alive." Jack answered.

"So _everyone_ thought I was dead? Syd asked, "The CIA? Vaughn?" 

"No Sydney. Everyone _thinks_ you're dead. Sydney, it is very crucial that your being alive is kept a secret, even from the CIA, until we can figure out where you've been. For all we know, the CIA could have been behind your kidnapping. That could be why they were so quick to buy the fire story." Jack looked around the plane again, checking to make sure that no one had been in a position to hear them talking.

"Dad I don't understand? Why would the CIA have me kidnapped? I mean they know the Rambaldi prophecy wasn't about me, so why would they keep me for two years?"

"I don't know, Sydney, but we can't rule out anything until we know what happened to you. But I promise that we won't stop until we find out who did this to you and for what reason. We will be landing in a couple of hours, why don't you try to get some sleep." Jack rose up out of his seat, cupped Sydney's cheek in his hand and said, 

"Honey, I have to check in with my men and make sure everything is on schedule for when we land" As he started to walk to the back of the plane, Sydney turned and grabbed his arm.

"Dad?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Jack said as he turn back to look down at Sydney.

" Where's Vaughn? He knows I'm alive, right?"

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Damn. _He thought. Jack looked down at Sydney and saw the desperate look in her eyes knew she wasn't ready to find out about Vaughn. He would stall having to tell her as long as possible. One thing Jack knew above anything else was how strong is daughter was, but even she has her breaking point and she was on the edge of it now. Telling her about Vaughn now, he feared, would push past that point. Besides he already had to tell her about Francie, that was enough bad news for one day. Just then, one of the team members walked up, catching Jacks attention.

"Sir?" the man gave Syd and quick smile.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just receive word from Parker that his team is secured and ready on the ground. All the preparations have been made for the package's safe delivery from the airport. I thought we should ready our team and go over the plans for when we land."

"Thanks Mac. I'll be over in a minute." Jack patted the man on the back and sent him over to the rest of his men. He turned back to Sydney. She had raised an eyebrow at him.

" I take it, I'm the package to be delivered and all that code talk was about me?" 

"Syd, I have to take care of a few details before we land. Try to get some rest and I promise we'll talk some more once we've gotten you to a safe place." Jack smiled and returned to his team to go over every step of getting Sydney safely off the plane without anyone seeing her.

Sydney leaned back in her seat and began to go over the bits of information her father had given, which wasn't much. She knew there had been more than what he was telling her and grew even more upset. _Two years._ _Where the hell have been?_ The thought kept flashing through her mind. Two years. She kept flashing back to the last night that she could remember. The night she and Vaughn had planned to go to Santa Barbara. She remembered how excited she had been that the reservation had been made, and that they were moving forward in their relationship. She remembered how much she loved him, how easy it was for her to love him.

Sydney thought back to the memory of sitting on the couch with Francie and offering her the coffee ice cream. She remembers the fight more vividly than she cared to. Worse of all, Sydney remembers the sight of Will, covered in blood, lying in her bathtub. The thought made her heart ache. Her thoughts drifted back to Francie. The real Francie. Sydney could feel hot, burning tears form behind her eyes. She knew that Francie must be dead for there to be and imposter in her place.

Looking out again over the ocean, Sydney let the tears roll down her cheeks and fall to her chest. She didn't want to remember. It was too hard to think about Francie and Will and what could have happened to them. 

Sydney wasn't sure when it was that she finally succumbed to the exhaustion and fell asleep. It wasn't a peaceful sleep. Like a slide show, pictures of her life popped in and out of her dreams. Dreams rarely make sense and the images that flashed like lightning through her mind, made Sydney twitch and jerk. 

It had been nearly 18 hours since Sydney had boarded the 747 in Hong Kong. The pilot was now making his final approach to LAX. He brought the plane to about 2000 feet and pulled back on the throttle causing the plane to gradually slow to about 250 mph. The flaps were lowered to help slow the speed of the aircraft even more and give lift to the wings. The plane seemed to be floating down from the sky. The runway was in sight now and the landing gear had been lowered.

The plane hit the runway at about 110 mph. The pilot pushed the throttle forward to give the engines a reverse thrust and the plane slowed even more. The engines roared and the plane gave a little lurch. Sydney jerked awake. 

As the plane was taxing off the runway, Sydney began to feel anxious. She was home and back to her life. She wasn't sure that she had a life to get back to, but there was Vaughn. The thought of seeing Vaughn again filled her with excitement. Sydney's body had memorized his embrace and it had begun to ache for it. 

The plane had finally pulled to a stop and Sydney unbuckled her seatbelt. She took one last look out the window and saw that three black sedans had been parked outside their departure gate. Just then, the doors on the sedans swung opened and three men piled out of each of them. Sydney studied their faces to see if Vaughn was among them. He wasn't. Sydney's heart sank and she took a second look at each of them to make sure he wasn't there. When she looked again, Sydney realized that two of the men weren't men at all. There were two women among them, both with a similar build to Sydney's, and both with long brown hair. _Hmm… Decoys. Damn, Dad's good. _The thought pulled at the corners of Sydney's mouth and she smiled. _Ok Sydney, here we go. Just breathe. _Sydney stood up and walked over to her dad and the rest of the team. A minute later, Sydney stepped off the plane and into her new life.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He tugged nervously at the bill of his baseball cap as she stepped off of the plane. He chose to stand away from heavily populated areas of the terminal, but from where he stood, he was sure he would not draw suspicion to anyone who was watching him. An onlooker would just think that he was just another tourist fresh of a plane. He knew coming to see her was a terrible risk to her life as well as his. No one was supposed to know that she was alive and he was sure he would be the last person to be told of her resurrection.

_Jack is no fool._ He thought. _He has gone to great lengths to ensure the safety of Sydney. The decoys are a nice touch and a damn good match._ But even at this distance, his heart couldn't be fooled. Sydney Bristow was even more beautiful than he remembered. She had her long, chestnut hair pulled back into a ponytail and was dressed in black pants and black sweater. He had always loved it when she'd pull her hair back to expose her long sleek neck. He closed his eyes and began to imagine what it would feel like to place his lips on her again. Starting at the base of her neck and moving slowly up the curve of her jaw, to her cheek, and finally to her full lips. 

His mouth went dry and his heart began to race as he pictured running his hands through her silky hair. He drew in a deep breath and tried to steady himself from the sudden wave of dizziness that threatened to drop him to his knees. At that moment, he caught a faint whiff of the shampoo she used to use. It smelled of strawberries. His body remembered how she felt, too. It began to ache for her as it remembered how she felt lying next to him each night. His body nearly betrayed him as he realized that it was pushing him towards her and out of hiding. 

His need for her was crippling any rational thought he had. Maybe he shouldn't have come. _You idiot! Of course you had to come. You had no choice. You had to see her again. _He chastised himself for even entertaining the thought. He watched as Sydney walked from the plane to the sedans. Her father, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, pulled Sydney close to him. _Bastard. _He thought. _He no doubt would try to keep Sydney from me. _Sark's eyes narrowed, never leaving Sydney for a second. 

The first car, along with its decoy, pulled away from the gate and headed northbound into the city. Jack placed Sydney in the back seat of the second car, walked around to the passenger side and got in. It slowly backed up and pulled forward toward the road and stopped. The third car pulled up next to it, stopped for a minute, and took its leave heading southbound. The car carrying Sydney and Jack waited until the third car was out of site and then drove off heading east. 

Sark watched as the Sydney's car slowly pulled away. He was sure that the tracking devise he had placed on the car was working and that it would lead him to her. He pushed his way past the crowds as he walked out of LAX. Sark walked back to his car and switched on the PDA that was tracking Sydney. He watched with excitement as the blinking red light, indicated that Sydney's car was now heading north. He knew it wouldn't be long before he'd have her back, again. He had already taken measures to ensure that Sydney Bristow would not be stolen from him a second time. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

It was two hours before the black sedan stopped in front of the small cabin. After two hours of backtracking, to ensure they weren't being followed, Jack and Sydney finally arrived at the safe house. Some one had obviously prepared for their arrival because the lights were on and there was smoke slithering from the chimney. The cabin was set back off the road and was surrounded by pine trees. The trees provided a good cover for the cabin from the road. Anybody driving by would have no idea that there was even a house there. 

Jack was the first to get out of the car. He shut the door and walked to the back of the car. Sydney heard keys jingling and the pop of the trunk release as it opened. Jack reached in and picked up a black overnight bag, slung it over his shoulder and slammed the trunk shut. He walked up to Sydney's door, opened it and helped her to get out.

Sydney was happy to get out of the car. She had always loved the mountains and the clean, pine smell of the air. She wasn't expecting it to be as cold as it was and she shivered a bit as her dad began to lead up to the cabin. The rest of the team proceeded Jack and Sydney, doing a sweep of the area to make sure it was safe. As they walked up the steps to the cabin, the door opened. Standing there, dressed in blue jeans and huge red flannel shirt was Weiss. 

Sydney rushed past her dad, taking the last two stairs in one leap, and threw herself into Weiss. He grunted at the impact of Syd's body into his. They locked their arms around each other in a. Sydney pulled back and looked up at Weiss. Tears were threatening to spill over his bottom lids as he looked back at her with a smile. She smiled back at him as a tear steamed down her cheek. 

"You look good for a dead woman." Weiss quipped as he choked back tears.

" I _feel _good for a dead woman." She played back at him.

" I know you feel good." Weiss flinched as Syd slugged him in his arm. They hugged again and stepped into the warmth of the cabin.

The cabin was lit by a couple of small table lamps and the fire that was burning in the fireplace. From the doorway, Syd could see the entire cabin. A tiny kitchen was off to the left of where she stood. (Which she supposed was the living room). Straight ahead, past the couch and coffee table, was a door to the one bedroom. To the right of that, was the bathroom. 

Jack let the overnight bag fall from his shoulder and onto the couch. A cloud of dust exploded up into the air and gently settled back down. He turned to Sydney and said,

" Everything you might need for the next few days is in here." He pointed to the bag.

"Everything but answers." Sydney mumbled. She folded her arms, refusing to move from where she stood. 

Weiss had made his way into the kitchen and was washing an old beat up pot.

"Sydney, are you hungry? I can make you some soup or something." Weiss raised up a can of condensed soup to prove to Sydney that he was fully prepared to show off his culinary skills. 

"Maybe a little later Eric, thank you though." 

Sydney looked back at her dad as he began to walk towards her. 

"Sydney, why don't you go take a shower and freshen up? You'll feel better. Maybe then you'll feel like eating something." Jack suggested.

Sydney was too tired to argue with him and a shower actually sounded pretty good at the moment. There wasn't a place on her body that hadn't been affected by the last 48 hours. She hurt everywhere. She exhaled and shuffled over to the couch, picked up the bag, and continued on her way to the bathroom.

Jack waited until he heard the water from the shower turn on before turning to Weiss. 

" Mr. Weiss? Would you do me a favor and stay with her tonight? She is not to have any contact with anybody and under no circumstances is she to take one step out of that door. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Mr. Weiss?

Weiss set down the can of soup and hurried over to Jack, who was now heading for the front door.

"I understand. But…what do you want me to say if she asks about Vaughn?" Weiss swallowed nervously.

Jack paused for a moment to make sure he could still hear the water running from Sydney's shower. He wanted to be gone before she came out. He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Before he stepped outside, Jack looked at Weiss and said,

" You can tell her what you think she should know. Tell her everything or tell her nothing. All I care about is that she stays put and speaks to no one." Jack replied. He was already down the steps before Weiss had a chance to say anything else. He watched as Jack got into his car and drove off. Weiss looked around, taking in the scenery and felt a cold sense of isolation. After locking the door, Weiss returned to the kitchen, opened up a can of chicken soup and started to cook him and Sydney dinner. 

Sydney stood in the shower and let the hot water pound into her back. She inhaled, letting the warmth of the steam fill her lungs. She wasn't sure how long she had been in there. Sydney reached down and picked up the shampoo bottle, gave it a squeeze, and poured some into her hand. She massaged it into her hair and tilted her head back to rinse it out. The bubbles slid down her body followed by a trail of goose bumps. Reluctantly, Sydney turned off the water. She pushed aside the shower curtain and carefully stepped out. She grabbed her towel and began drying herself. Syd wrapped her head, so her hair wouldn't drip, and began digging through the bag her father had packed for her. She pulled out a fluffy terrycloth robe, slipped into it, and tied it around her, pulling the knot tight. Sydney opened the bathroom door and a wall of steam poured out around her. 

Sydney Bristow didn't need to see him to know that he was in the room. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and the room buzzed with his presence. Standing in the living room dressed in jeans and a Los Angeles Kings sweatshirt was Michael Vaughn.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Vaughn tensed at the sight of her. He knew seeing her again was going to be almost has hard as it was to bury her but he didn't expect her to be dressed like that. _Shit. _He thought. _I can't do this with her looking like that. _He remained standing next to the couch with his hands in his pockets, not sure what his first move should be. Vaughn was flooded with too many emotions to choose which one to act on. Sydney made the first move.

Sydney ran into his arms. The towel that she had meticulously wrapped around her head fell to the ground and her wet hair dropped down her back in a tangled mess. Being in her lover's arms again seemed to fade the rest of the world to black. She pressed her body to his as if trying to melt them together into one. Sydney buried her face into the crook of Vaughn's neck and breathed in his scent. Her body went limp as all the stress of the past two days escaped her body as she exhaled. The way he held her, his scent, everything about this man, made Sydney feel at peace. She was truly home. 

Of all the things Vaughn had ever experienced in his life, nothing could ever compare to the feeling he had as he stood there holding her again. There were no words to describe the love he felt for this woman. There was only the burning impulse he had to never let her go. Vaughn had dreamed about this moment a million times during the past two years. He couldn't count the number of times he wished that it was all a mistake, a nightmare from which he would wake up to find Sydney nestled next to him, sleeping.

Now, Vaughn was too scared to move. That if he did, somehow all this would go away. What if he was dreaming? He had been fooled by his dreams before. He pulled her closer to him. _I can still feel her. Ok, I'm not dreaming._ He convinced himself. 

They loosened their grips on each other and Sydney pulled back just enough to look at Vaughn. A smile spread across both their faces. Sydney slowly leaned in to kiss Vaughn but stopped as he cupped her face with his hands. He wiped way any traces that she had been crying. He studied her face as if her were trying to memorize every microscopic thing about it. Vaughn pushed a strand of hair that had fallen into Sydney's eyes back behind her ear. He looked deep into her eyes. 

_" _I couldn't believe it when Eric told me," Vaughn whispered in disbelief.

" I wanted to but my heart wouldn't let me, not until I was able to see and hold you again." Vaughn smiled. "And here you are, in my arms and I'm afraid to let go, afraid this is all a dream." Vaughn pulled Sydney into another hug.

"From the moment I woke up in that alley, all I could think about was you." Sydney said. Her words muffled from her lips being pressed into Vaughn's shoulder as they hugged. "I was afraid something had happened to you. No one would tell me anything."

Vaughn stepped back and lead Sydney over to the couch. He sat her down and then took a seat on the coffee table facing her, taking her hands in his. Sydney felt a cold, hard, metal against her right hand. She looked down and saw a gold band on Vaughn's left ring finger. Sydney looked back up at Vaughn, a confused look on her face, then back down at his hand. 

"Vaughn…what is going on? Wh…why are you wearing that ring?" Finding her voice, she forced the question out. 

Vaughn avoided looking at Sydney and found a spot on the floor to focus on. He knew that she understood what the ring symbolized and the look on her face sent a stabbing pain through his heart. Telling her that he was married was going to hurt her and it killed him to have to do it.

"Syd, I came here tonight for two reasons." Vaughn began. " The first being that, when Eric called me and told me you were alive I had see you with my own eyes. The second reason is that what I am about to tell you should come from me and no one else." 

Vaughn paused, stood up, and began pacing around the living room. Sydney tracked his every move, the look of confusion only deepening on her face.

**_" _**I can't believe what you're about to tell me." Syd said, shaking her head.

Vaughn stopped pacing and sat back down across from Sydney forcing himself to look into her eyes. He owed her that much.

" When you died it devastated me. I loved you so much that I couldn't think straight. I didn't care about anything or anyone. I couldn't see that I was killing myself. Everybody around me saw it happening. Friends, family, they all tried to help, but there was nothing left in me to care. Finally, I had to leave. I turned in my resignation letter at the CIA and left the country." 

"Vaughn, how…..?" Sydney began but Vaughn stopped her.

"Please Sydney, let me finish." Vaughn continued at a quickened pace.

" I moved to France and began teaching. That's where I met my wi…." Vaughn couldn't get the word to come out of his mouth. He tried again.

"That's where I met Lauren. It was only recently that we moved back to the states because of her job. She's an agent for the NSA."

Sydney felt betrayed and sickened at what Vaughn was telling her. She could taste the bile at the back of her throat and she felt like vomiting. Sydney's confusion was now replaced by anger. Her skin crawled at the mention of his wife's name. She didn't want to know her name. Sydney didn't want to know any of this. Vaughn could see her anger growing.

"Sydney, you need to know that I would have broken every law, rule, or protocol, killed anyone I had to keep you safe. Even now, I would lay down my own life to keep you safe. I………"

"Bullshit" Sydney said coldly.

"What's bullshit?" 

"What's bullshit is that you can stand there and go on about how much you loved me, and how devastated you were when you thought I was dead, and that you would die for me, all while wearing that ring! It's bullshit that you fed me some line about your father's watch and it stopping the day we met and you turning around and practically getting a new life!!!!" Sydney fought to keep the tears back. She was too angry to let him see her cry.

"My feelings for you are not bullshit!" Vaughn's voice began to rise. "You have no idea what I've been through the past two years!"

"You just told me…let me see if I got it right" Sydney started, counting on her fingers, each point she was making.

"You first quit the CIA, then you went off to France, met some woman, fell in love, got married, and moved back here all within the span of two years. Did I leave anything out?"

"You are being so unfair. You were dead." Vaughn said defensively.

" I'm sorry that you lost two years of your life. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't able to keep you safe. If I were able to, things would be different right now between you and me. Life dealt us a shitty hand and I'm not apologizing for moving on with my life. You can stand there and question the choices I've made over the past two years. You can think of me as a bastard if you want, but don't stand there a question my love for you. About my father's watch…when I told you about it, I meant what I said."

Vaughn waited for a reply from Sydney. She stood up from the couch, picked up the towel that had fallen form her head onto the floor and said, " I think you should go."

She turned away from Vaughn and headed to the bedroom door. She never looked back as she quietly shut the door leaving Vaughn standing alone. After the shock had warn off a bit about what just went on between himself and Sydney, Vaughn walked to the front door, grabbed his jacket from the hook it had been hanging on, put it on and stepped out into the cold dark night.

After saying goodbye to Vaughn, Eric had gotten up from the rocking chair he had been frozen to and went back inside. A frozen ass was the price he had to pay for giving Vaughn and Sydney some privacy. The temperature felt like it had dropped to twenty degrees as he sat there trying not the hear everything that was being said inside.

He walked over the fireplace and began to slowly thaw out. He was just beginning to get the feeling back in his fingers when he heard a soft sound coming from the bedroom. Eric overheard most of what was said between Vaughn and Sydney and he felt sorry for both of them. Glad not to be in either of their shoes, Eric still hurt for both of his friends. He wanted to be there for both of them. Right now, Sydney needed it. Eric walked over to the bedroom door, and was just about ready to knock when he heard the quiet sobs. Thinking that it would be best to just leave her alone for tonight, Eric walked away from the bedroom and over to the couch. He unfolded his blanket, fluffed up his pillow, and laid there waiting for the sobbing to stop. After a few hours, Eric was sure that Sydney had cried herself to sleep. He closed his eyes a drifted off to sleep as well.

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The tracking device Sark placed in Syd's car led him to the secluded cabin the northern woods. He sat patiently waiting, watching. He watched as Vaughn got into his car and drove away. He had not been surprised to see Vaughn take such a big risk to see her. After all, he would have done the same thing. What surprised Sark was that Vaughn hadn't stayed long. Sark felt nothing but hatred for Michael Vaughn. He would have liked nothing better than to step from the shadows and put a bullet into his head. He resisted the temptation. He would deal with Vaughn soon enough. 

He waited for Vaughn's tail lights to disappear before reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He dialed, put the phone to his hear and waited for an answer. On the third ring a sleepy female voice answered.

"Hello?" she answered. Her sleepiness made her British accent heavy.

"Did I wake you?" Sark asked smoothly.

"Are you crazy?! What are you doing calling me at this number? What if Michael had answered the phone?" Lauren asked as she sat up in bed, looking at the clock. It read 11:24 P.M.

"Relax. Tell me, do you know where your husband is at this very moment?" 

"I really don't want to play games. It's late." She sighed, frustrated.

"I just asked you a simple question." Sark said innocently.

"Michael is with his friend, Eric. He called and said something about his girlfriend breaking up with him, and that he need someone to talk to."

"Wrong. Would you care to guess again?" He waited for her reply. When none came he continued.

"No? Ok then, I'll tell you. Your beloved husband just left a safe house where he was visiting an old friend. Someone, I'm sure, you'd be very interested in."

"And who would that be?" Lauren said sarcastically.

" My wife." Sark replied. A sadistic smile spread across his face. He never tired of hearing Sydney being referred to as his wife.

Lauren had been shocked by what she had just heard. Sydney's back and Michael had been to see her. Suddenly, all her hark work and preparation over the past two years were being threatened. 

"How can this be? I thought your plan to keep Sydney under your control was fool proof?" 

"She has a stronger will than I would have imagined. But not to worry. Plans have already been made to correct this little problem." Sark reassured her.

"I don't see how you could call this a little problem. Do you think she has begun to remember anything?" 

"I have no way of knowing yet." Sark replied. "In order for me to get her back before she does, I need for you to continue to distract Vaughn. Sydney's feelings for him could cause a huge threat to our future plans."

"Distracting Michael when he thought Sydney was dead was hard enough. I can't imagine what it'll be like now that he knows she is alive. He loves her still. I think his feelings for her will pose a bigger threat to us." Lauren said. She was now pacing her bedroom.

"That is why I need to move quickly. I'll stay in contact with you and keep informed of what I mean to do once I'm able to retrieve Sydney. Until then, just keep up pretenses Mrs. Vaughn. You'll do fine." With that, Sark hung up.

Lauren hung up. She nervously pushed back her hair and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. As she was drying off her face, she heard the familiar sound of Michael's car as it was being pulled into the driveway. A few seconds later she heard the grinding sound of the garage door being opened. She hurried and jumped back into bed just as Michael walked into the house, quietly shutting the door leading from the garage.

Vaughn locked the door behind him and hung his keys up on the key holder. He managed to tip toe quietly to the bedroom and with turning on any lights, undressed and got into bed. _Thank god she's asleep. _He thought thankfully. He doubted he would have been able to hide the horrific events of the night on his face if she'd been awake.

Vaughn slipped under the covers and spooned up to Lauren's warm body. She responded by pushing her back up against his and moaning softly. He put his arms around her and nuzzled his face in her hair. When he closed his eyes, all her could see was Sydney's face laced with the pain of seeing his wedding ring. The thought kept him awake. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: 

            Jack spent all morning putting together the plans to move Sydney to a new safe house.  He wanted to kill Eric Weiss for letting Vaughn see her.  Jack knew that Sydney was no where near ready to see Vaughn yet.  He wanted to give her a few days to settle into her new life before dredging up her old one.  Now, Jack had to assume that Vaughn's visit left a trail to Sydney.  She must be moved as soon as possible.

            Jack flew up the stairs of the safe house and burst thru the door.  Weiss jumped up from the couch, no doubt startled by the intrusion. 

            "Good morn…….."Weiss started to say, but Jack pushed him to the wall, slamming up against him, crushing his throat with his forearm.

            "You stupid Fuck!… Did you really think that I wouldn't find out about last night?  Do you know what you've done by letting him come here?"  Jack tried to control the volume at which he was yelling.  He failed miserably.

            Sydney heard the door burst open to the cabin and the familiar sound of her father's voice.  She hurried out of the bedroom, where she had just finished dressing, and ran over to the two men struggling the living room.  She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm and pulled him of Weiss.  Weiss bent over coughing and gasping for air. Sydney looked at her dad in disbelief.

            "Dad what are doing?!" She asked wide eyed.  Jack never took his eyes off of Weiss, who was now rubbing his throat and still struggling to catch his breath.

            "Why did you attack Weiss?" She asked as she stepped between them, facing her father. She forced Jack to look at her.  His face was red with anger and he spat as the words erupted from him again.

            "Because of this idiot's big mouth, I've spent the better part of the morning arranging for you to be moved again." Jack started for Weiss again.  Sydney placed a hand on her father's chest to stop him. Jack backed off a little.

            "I will not have you risking my daughter's life just because you have some romantic notion of reuniting her with a past love." Jack said to Weiss.  He had managed to stop yelling.

            When Weiss was sure that Jack had regained control and wasn't going to come after him again, he pushed past Sydney and Jack and walked over to the couch and plopped down.

            "That was never my intention when I called Vaughn about Sydney" Weiss paused for a moment and the continued.

            "I would never do anything to put Sydney's life at risk.  I called Vaughn to protect her." Weiss stopped when he saw Jack roll his eyes.

            "I know that sounds crazy, but just hear me out.  I knew that Sydney would have found a way to slip out in the night to go to Vaughn." Weiss looked over at Sydney for a sign of agreement.  She avoided his eyes and looked down.

            "You know you would have. I figured that it would be safer for both of them if Vaughn came here.  It was better than having Sydney wondering around looking for him or showing up on his doorstep only to have his wife answer the door."

             The moment he said it, he wished he could've taken it back.  Weiss looked over at Sydney just in time to see her flinch at those words.  _His Wife.  _Jack must have noticed the impact those words had on Sydney as well. He moved closer to her and placed a hand on her cheek.  Sydney tilted her head into his touch and closed her eyes. A tear fell silently down her face leaving a salty trail.  After a few seconds she opened her eyes and gave Jack a little smile.  Jack's expression spoke to Sydney without words. She answered.

            "I'm Ok." She whispered, blinking away any remaining tears and looked back at Weiss. Jack turned to him as well and sighed.

            "Weiss is right, Dad.  I would have slipped out last night to find Vaughn.  It was better that he came here considering the circumstances.  Weiss made the right call." Sydney gave Weiss a nod. He smiled his thank you.

            "Yes, under the circumstances, it was better that Vaughn came here. But I thought I had made myself clear that no one was to know about you being alive. Even Vaughn. At least until we find out more about where you were or who you were with."  Jack said insistently.

            "I'm sorry Jack. I didn't mean to put Sydney or anybody in any more danger.  I really was trying to avoid that very thing." Weiss said.  

            "I know that Agent Weiss. We just need to use extreme caution from now on." Jack warned.

            "Dad, I know you probably don't want to talk about this now, but what about Vaughn? What kind of danger is he in now that he knows I'm alive? Sydney asked.

            "I don't honestly know.  If whoever took you knows about your relationship with him, it is possible that they would be watching him to see if he would lead them to you.  We have to assume that's the case which is why you need to be ready to leave in one hour." Jack ordered as he walked to the front door.  As he opened the door Jack looked back at Sydney, who had a worried look on her face. 

            "Don't worry sweetheart, I've taken every precaution to get you safely to the new safe house. Just be ready when I come back." And with that, Jack walked out the door and closed it tightly behind him. 

            Sydney turned to Weiss, who was still sitting on the couch.  She walked over and sat down next to him so that she could inspect his neck.  Weiss assured her that he was going to be fine and playfully swatted her away.  Sydney giggled and stopped fussing over him.  She sat back against the couch a waited a few minutes before speaking.

            "Do you think that Vaughn is in danger?" Sydney asked.

            "Yes. Knowing that you are alive does put Vaughn in danger but he was in danger before he found out about you.  Just a different kind." Weiss said somberly.

            "What do you mean?" Sydney was confused by what Weiss meant.

            "Sydney, I hate that I put Vaughn's life at risk by telling him that you were alive. I hate it more that I might have put yours in greater risk, but I couldn't let my best friend go around thinking that the love of his life was dead when she wasn't." Weiss stood up and started to pack up the house.  Sydney just sat and watched him, waiting for more of an explanation.  Weiss continued.

            "Vaughn was a danger to himself.  He was devastated when you died and a part of him died with you.  He would slip into these black moods and become unrecognizable, like I didn't even know who he was.  His marriage has helped him to move on with what was left of his life and has improved his moods, but he still isn't the same.  I miss my friend. Last night, when he saw you for the first, even if was for a fleeting moment, I saw my old friend truly happy for the first time in two years." Weiss choked back the tears.

Sydney stood up, walked over to Weiss and hugged him.  He squeezed her back hard. She pulled back and looked at him.

            "I'm sorry, I didn't realize until now how hard it must have been to see your best go through that.  Thank you for caring so much about Vaughn or me for that matter." Sydney looked pleased to see that she had made Weiss blush.

            "I'll help you pack."

End of Chapter 8 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters or anything related to the show they belong to J.J. Abrams so please don't sue us cause we have no money!!!!

Chapter 9:

            Michael Vaughn hadn't been able to focus on anything except her for the past two days.  From the moment he'd left her at the safe house, after seeing her for the first time in two years, Sydney kept creeping back into his thoughts.  Vaughn kept finding himself thinking about her when he should've been concentrating on other things.  For example, on the way to school this morning, he should have noticed that the light had turned red.  Instead, he nearly hit a car as he flew through the intersection.  When he finally made it to school, he proceeded to enter the wrong classroom, forgetting that he was giving his classes a test, and dismissed his last class after the first fifteen minutes.  

            After realizing what he'd done and that it was too late to get any of the kids back into the classroom, Vaughn sat down at his desk and tried to regroup.  _Ok Michael, get a grip._ He thought to himself.  He pulled out his grade book and tried to focus on grading some papers to get his mind of Sydney.  It must have worked because he hadn't noticed that he wasn't the only one in the room.  Vaughn looked up from his stack of papers, not surprised to see Jack Bristow standing in front of him.

            "I was wondering when I'd be getting a visit from you." Vaughn said as he pushed his papers aside and leaned back in his chair.

             There was a time when having Jack Bristow standing over him would have intimidated Vaughn.  Now, he could care less. Jack was no longer his superior.

            "The fact that you expected me, Mr. Vaughn, tells me that you knew what a dangerous risk it was to see her, for the both of you, and yet you still felt compelled to. Please tell me why?" Jack asked as he placed both hands on the top of Vaughn's desk and leaned forward. 

            "My intention wasn't to put her in danger, but I had to see her.  I needed to see her with my own two eyes and I didn't want her to hear about my marriage from anyone but me. I still love her Jack, and I hate the way things ended between us but maybe it was for the best." Vaughn replied. He stood up and started to pack up his papers into his brief case.

            "Best for whom Mr. Vaughn? You? Your wife, perhaps? Sydney?" Jack moved around the desk so that he now standing between Vaughn and the door.

            "Best for all of us. I didn't enjoy having to lie to my wife about where I was the other night and I certainly didn't enjoy seeing the look on Sydney's face when I told her I was married.  If my being around causes Sydney any pain, then it is probably better that I don't see her again. I'm sure you'd agree?" Vaughn said.  

            The thought of never seeing Sydney again gave Vaughn a sick feeling. He knew it was selfish of him to want to see her but he knew that what he told Jack was the truth.  It wasn't fair to Lauren and it certainly wasn't fair to Sydney. No, he needed to try and let her go no matter how much pain it caused him to do so.  

            "It is no secret that I never warmed up to the idea of you and my daughter as a couple.  As her father, I felt she could have done better, but I could see how much the two of you cared for each other.  Since you insisted on seeing her, I must now insist that you help us to find out what happened to her." Jack demanded.  

            "I don't see how I can help. As you can see, I'm a teacher now.  I'm not going back into the CIA." Vaughn snorted as he started to walk towards the door. Jack stepped forward to stop him. The two men were nearly nose to nose.

            "I'm not asking for you to come back to the CIA. If you were to come back now it might look suspicious and draw unwanted attention in our direction." Jack noted.

            "How am I supposed to keep this from Lauren. She works for the NSA for Christ's sake, I can't keep something this big from her. Jack you can't ask me to do this." Vaughn said nervously.

            "I wasn't really asking.  The way I see it, you don't have a choice. I need somebody who has an "in", so to speak, with the NSA. You could provide us that."

            "How? My wife doesn't exactly discuss her work with me over dinner.  What makes you think that the NSA would have any information on Sydney's disappearance anyway?" Vaughn's interest had been peeked.  He never figured Jack to be a desperate man, but the fact that he even wanted his help had Vaughn worried. 

            "I received some intel recently that is pointing me in the general direction of the NSA or to someone affiliated with the organization." Jack said. He held back a tiny smile that threaten to give away his delight in knowing that he had Vaughn right where he needed him.  

            "Tell me what you want me to do." Vaughn said somberly. 

            "First tell me, do I have you full cooperation?" Jack asked.

            "You said it yourself. I don't have a choice, right?" Vaughn said miserably.

            "I need to hear you tell me that you are in a hundred percent." Jack insisted.

            "Yes. I'm in. Now tell me what you need me to do."

            "Nothing at the moment. I'll be in contact with you." Jack smiled in satisfaction and turned to take his leave.  When he got to the door he turned around and looked at Vaughn. 

            "Please tell me how I'm going to get around Lauren with this. She will suspect something is up if I keep coming up with lame excuses to get out of the house." Vaughn asked.

            "Yes, Mr. Vaughn, I suspect she will." Jack turned and walked out of the room. Vaughn stood there listening to his footsteps growing fainter and fainter until they were gone.  Vaughn finally walked over to the door, took a long look around his classroom, turned off the lights, and walked out.  


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

            It had been two days since Jack and come to see Vaughn in his classroom.  Vaughn knew that Jack would stop at nothing to find out what had happened to Sydney during those two years.  He knew that Jack could be as ruthless of a killer as any enemy and it wouldn't be wise to cross him. Vaughn had wanted to help Sydney, but he was furious that Jack had wanted him to spy on Lauren.  _Why would he suspect the NSA? How could even think that Lauren could be involved?_ Those thoughts kept hunting Vaughn. 

            Vaughn had been feeling restless.  He was so afraid that Lauren would pick up on his uneasiness and question him about it that he had done his best to avoid her.  Vaughn had slipped out of the house that morning  to go for a run and try to clear his head.  He had decided not to take his usual route through the neighborhood streets and instead headed off to the park.  Vaughn never ran the park because it was where he and Sydney used to run and he hadn't been able to bring himself to go there since her disappearance. Today was different.  It was like unseen force had pulled him there. Without even noticing that he was headed that way, Vaughn found himself in the park.

            He had been running for an hour before he realized that it wasn't helping to take his mind off of Jack and Sydney.  He had just turned to head home when a young woman ran into him and fell to ground clutching her right ankle.  He bent down to help her up.

            "I'm so sorry are you O.K.?" Vaughn asked concerned.

            The woman was fit and attractive. She wore a black jogging suit and she had hidden her red hair under a baseball cap.  She looked up at him and winced.

            "I'm the one who is sorry. I can be such a ditz sometimes. I wasn't even watching where I was going. I didn't hurt you, did I?"  She asked as she rubbed her ankle.

            "No. I'm fine. Here, let me help you up." Vaughn assured her as he grabbed her under her left arm and hoisted her up onto her one good foot. She rolled her hurt ankle around a couple of times and stepped down on it carefully.

            "I think I'm going to O.K. if I can manage to look where I'm going from now on. Thank you.  I'm really sorry that I ran into you." She smiled at Vaughn.

            "It's fine. Are you sure you are going to be O.K.? I could get a cab for you if you don't think you can make it on that ankle." Vaughn said still holding onto her. He wasn't going to let go until he knew she could stand on her own.

            "That won't be necessary. I'm fine. See." She took a few steps forward and turned back to Vaughn.

            "Well, if you're sure." Vaughn said uncertain that she was really O.K.

            "Yes, thanks again." She said and she walked away.

            Vaughn watched her limp away.  The chilly breeze swept across his face and neck causing him to shiver.  He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and placed his hands in the front pocket.  He frowned as he felt something in his pocket. He pulled out his right hand and looked down at a folded up piece of paper.  He opened it up and read it:

            BE AT CORNER OF WADE AND 42ND AT 5P.M.

          Vaughn spun around to chase after the young woman but she was nowhere to be seen.  He frantically began searching the park for any sign of her but it was if she a simply vanished. He looked down at the note again and read it at least a dozen more times.  Vaughn crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it away in the nearest trash bin. He scanned the park for the woman one last time before heading home to shower and get ready for work.  If he was lucky, Lauren would have already left for work.

            Vaughn couldn't remember a day going by as slow as this had.  He found himself checking the clock on his wall every few minutes. He excused his last class of the day and hurried to clean up and head out.  The meeting place was a good forty five minute drive from his school and he was sure it would take close to 1 ½ to get there in rush hour traffic. 

            Vaughn drove past the corner of Wade and 42nd and pulled into a parking lot a few blocks down.  He got out of his car and began to walk to the meeting place all the while taking in his surroundings.  Vaughn was careful to take note of everybody that pasted him as he approached the corner.  When he finally arrived he stood there, looking from left to right, hoping to spot the person or persons that were to contact him.  

            Vaughn had only glanced at the phone booth that sat on the corner, but never really gave it much thought until it started to ring. Thinking nothing of it, Vaughn continued to scope out the scene.  The phone rang and rang and rang.  Looking around to see if anybody was going to answer it, he slowly began to walk toward the phone. Vaughn reached the phone booth and placed his hand on the receiver.  He took a deep breath, picked up the receiver, put it to his ear, paused for a few seconds,  and spoke into it.

            "Hello?" Vaughn barley could get the word to form.  

            "Did you have a nice run?" Jack asked.  Vaughn let out a sigh. He could picture the smug smile on Jack's  face.  He was obviously enjoying that fact that he had Vaughn by the short ones. This pissed Vaughn off and he grew impatient.

          "Enough of this Cloak and Dagger Shit!" Vaughn said threw gritted teeth. 

          "Sorry, but it is necessary." Jack said without an ounce of sincerity. 

          "Can we just get to the point?" Vaughn asked impatiently.

          "Certainly.  I need you to meet me at the safe house, tonight, at 23:00." Jack ordered.  Vaughn ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. 

            "I can't tonight." Vaughn said knowing that Jack would not take no for an answer.

          "Maybe I didn't make it clear to you that you really don't have a choice." Jack answered. It was Jack who now grew impatient.

          "I'm not trying to be difficult. I told you that you have my full cooperation, but tonight is my anniversary and I don't see how you expect me to get by Lauren tonight of all nights." Vaughn said bowing his head down.  He knew the mention of his marriage would only increase Jack's instance that he be there tonight.  There was silence on the other end. Vaughn didn't need to wait for a reply. He let out a defeated breath.

            "Alright. I'll be there." and with that, Vaughn hung up the phone. He took a deep breath and turned away from the phone booth.  He slowly walked back to his car.  Vaughn got into his car, put the key in the ignition but didn't turn it.  He just sat there for a few minutes watching a young couple holding hands as they walked  by.  He envied them.  

End of chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

AT THE SAFE HOUSE:

            Sydney grew restless.  She had begun to wear a path in the rug from pacing back and forth.  

            "Sit down. You're making me nervous." Weiss ordered.  He looked up at Sydney from behind the newspaper he'd been trying to read.

            "Sorry.  I can't stand being cooped up for days at time." Sydney said as she plopped down on the couch. A cloud of dust exploded from beneath and caused her to sneeze.

            "Gesundheit!" Weiss smiled at her. Sydney smiled back. She got up and started to pace again. Weiss abandoned his attempt at reading the paper.  He folded it up and set it down beside the chair he was sitting in and got up.  Weiss walked over to Sydney and placed his hands on her shoulders. He gave her a gentle shake.

            "You are driving me crazy. Will you please find something to do? How about cards? Want to play cards?" Weiss asked her as he picked up an old deck of playing cards from where they had been lying on the coffee table. Sydney rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

            "I'm sick of playing cards. Besides, you already owe me $250.  I don't think you can afford to lose much more on a G-Man's salary." Sydney replied.

            "Come on. Give me a chance to win some back." Weiss begged.

            Sydney walked over the to kitchen, opened the small refrigerator, and pulled out a can of soda.  She popped the can opened and listened as the tiny bubbles fizzed to the top.  She took a long drink and sat the can down on the counter.  Weiss had just set the cards back onto the table when they heard the sound of the doorknob being turned.  Neither of them had heard a car drive up so the fact that someone was now at the door seemed to catch them both of guard.  A rush of adrenaline sped up Sydney's heartbeat as she moved from the kitchen to stand by Weiss.  They both signed with relief as Jack came through the door.

            "I can tell by look on your faces that I startled you.  I'm sorry." Jack said apologetically.  Sydney walked over and gave her father a hug. 

            "Nah, Weiss always has that look on his face." Sydney joked as she walked back to Weiss.  He rolled his eyes at her and smiled. Jack moved further into the room and sat down on the couch looking at Sydney and Weiss.

            "I came because a piece of intel came through that shouldn't be ignored." Jack began.  Sydney moved over to where her father sat on the couch and sat down next to him. The look on her face was pleading for Jack to continue.

            "Sydney, it may have to do with the scar on your side." Jack said, pausing as Sydney rubbed at her side.

            "It seems that you may not have been the only one who was being held against there will.  For whatever reason, they also took a doctor captive." Jack said.

            "A doctor? But why? What for?" Sydney questioned. 

            "We know very little.  It was a fluke that we even know about him. We don't know what he was used for, only that whoever had the both of you let him go but now want him back.  He is supposedly being held in a warehouse in central L.A. He is to be moved out tonight which is why we need to grab him. Maybe he'll have some answers." Jack finished.

            "When do we leave?" Sydney stood up. She stood looking down at Jack.

            "Sydney slow down. We have a little time. We need to devise a plan. I've already started to put together a team to go in and extract the doctor." Jack said.

            "I want in." Sydney said. The look of determination chiseled in stone across her face.  Jack hated when she got this way.  There was no reasoning with her when her mind was made up. As much as he wanted her to stay behind and remain safe, he knew that the safest place for her was with him.  

            "I thought you might." Jack sighed as he stood up to face her. "I just want you to realized how dangerous this is.  If this tip turns up legit, we will be facing the same people who took you and stole two years from you."

            "I realize that. I just think that maybe something might trigger my memory if I'm a part of this." Sydney said.

            "I agree, which is why I'm letting you come." Jack lied. It would only piss Sydney off to know that the reason he was letting her come was to keep an eye on her.  She wouldn't see that it was only for her protection. 

            "So, who all is on the team?" Sydney asked. 

            "Me, you, Weiss, and Vaughn." Jack replied.  He braced himself for Sydney's reaction to Vaughn being a part of this.  Her reaction was just what he had anticipated. 

            "Vaughn!?… Why is Vaughn being pulled into this?" Sydney yelled. She turned on Jack. " I don't think that it is wise to have him involved in any of this. He made it clear that he has moved on…..from this type of work." she added.

            "I have my own reasons for pulling Vaughn into this.  He is more than willing to help and right now we could use all the help we can get. Besides, it pains me to admit this,…. I trust him." Jack confessed. He looked down avoiding Weiss' stare.  His words made him feel a little sick. The last thing Jack wanted was for Vaughn to know that Jack depended on him as much as he did.  Jack cleared his throat and barked out orders to Sydney and Weiss.  They both followed his orders down to the smallest detail.

NSA PARKING GARAGE:

            The sound of Lauren's heels clicking on the cement, echoed throughout the parking garage.  She was in a hurry to get home for once. Usually Lauren would take her time to get home, sometimes taking back roads just to draw out having to go home to him.  The less time she had to be alone with him the better.  It had been increasingly hard to keep up the pretense of a happy marriage since the night she learned a Sydney's return. 

            Lauren reached her car and it chirped as she disengaged the alarm.  She opened the door and climbed in.  As she put the key in the ignition she felt a gloved hand slip over her mouth.  She stiffened and tried to scream but the leather of the glove muffled the sound.  Lauren looked through tears at her rearview mirror to see a pair of familiar eyes peering back at her.  She relaxed a bit and the hand moved off her mouth.

            "You stupid git! You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing here?" Lauren turned in her seat to face her attacker.

            "I'm scaring the shit out of you, like you said." Sark smiled as he sat back, making himself comfortable.

            "Why are you risking getting caught?" Lauren asked.

            "What can I say? I love the thrill it gives me." Sark replied.

            "What do you want?" Lauren whispered as she looked around.

            "I have a little problem that only you can help me with, Mrs. Vaughn." Sark said.

            "I hate when you call me that." Lauren scoffed. An evil smile spread across Sark's face.

            "I'll get to the point then.  I plan to get Sydney back tonight." Sark began. "I have it worked out to the last detail. I've even gone as far as having her own father deliver her to me." Sark gloated.

            "It's about time. How did you manage this?" Lauren asked.

            "It was easier than I thought it was going to be.  Jack is so desperate for information about what happened to Sydney, that he will believe anything.  A little bluff was all it took for Jack to show his hand." Sark said. He was extremely proud of himself.

            "What is this problem that only I can help you with?" Lauren asked as she shifted in her seat.  Her neck began to hurt form twisting around to talk to Sark.

            "I'm going to have enough trouble getting her away form Jack, that I don't need any surprise guests crashing this little party." Sark said annoyingly.

            "Like Michael?" Lauren guessed.

            "Yes, like your husband." Sark said. It was obvious how much he hated Vaughn.

            "Well, it shouldn't be a problem keeping him occupied tonight. It's our anniversary and I doubt he would risk the suspicion it would raise if he were to all of a sudden have to leave." Lauren said.

            "Yes, I imagine you would be a distraction for any man, but I'm not willing to take the chance that he might be able to resist any temptation you throw at him." Sark said smiling. It pleased him to see her squirm at the mention of her having to use sex to distract Vaughn. He continued as he handed her small white envelope. " I want you to use this." 

            "What is it?" Lauren asked as she examined the package. It felt as if there was sand it.

            "It's a sleeping draft." Sark said as if she should have been able to guess. " You mix it in a drink. This is the only way I can be sure he won't be turning up and spoiling my plans." He opened the door to get out of the car but Lauren stopped him.

            "Let's say this plan of yours works and you manage to get Sydney out of the country again, how do you know that this time you'll be able to hold her?" 

            "My dear Lauren, because when I'm done with her, not only will she have no memory of her past life, but she'll have nothing and no one to come back to." And with that Sark stepped out of the car and disappeared. 

            Lauren sat for a moment and turned the envelope back and forth in her hands.  At least with Michael drugged she would have a night to herself. A night where she didn't have to pretend to happily married to a man she normally would have never even give a second glance to. She put the envelope in her purse, started the car and headed home to her eagerly awaiting husband.

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

            Vaughn had thought that they were going to be at that restaurant for the rest of their lives.  First, the restaurant claimed that someone called and cancelled their reservation.  He wasn't all that upset about it because this restaurant had been his second choice anyway.  He had wanted to take Lauren to her favorite place, O'Reilly's, but it had been booked up for a wedding.  He wanted to leave and find another place but Lauren had insisted on staying.  So they stayed.  It took an hour and  a half before they finally got a table.  When their food came, Lauren sent her steak back claiming that it was undercooked.  Vaughn thought it strange because she usually took her stake very rare.

            It was 9:30pm before they finally got the check and left the restaurant. When they got home, Lauren had asked Vaughn to chill some champagne while she slipped into something more comfortable. He walked to the freezer and pulled out a bucket he had placed there before they left for dinner.  He grabbed a bag of ice and filled the chilled bucket. He opened up the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of champagne and put it in the bucket of ice.  He loosened up his tie, slipped it over is head and unfastened the first couple of buttons on his shirt.  Butterflies had begun to dance around in his belly. He was nervous about having to lie to Lauren to get out of the house.

            It took him forever to come up with a way to get out of the house. It was lame, he knew it, but it was all he had.  He had asked a buddy from work to call his cell phone around 10pm, and to totally disregard anything that Vaughn said.  He was going to tell Lauren that the call was from the school, that someone had broken in and that they needed him to come down to make sure nothing was taken from his room. 

            He walked over to the stereo and put in a CD of soft music. Might as well make it look good he thought to himself. He felt like a shit. He hated that he was about to ruin this night for Lauren.  Just then, she came out of the bedroom and walked down the hall.  She must have gone shopping because Vaughn had never seen the outfit that she was wearing.  This whole time, Vaughn had been feeling sorry for Lauren for what he was about to do, but after seeing her dressed in that little, black nighty, he felt sorry for himself.

            "You look beautiful." Vaughn said. Lauren glided up to him and kissed him.

            "Thank you." She whispered. "How about a drink?"

            "I just put it on ice. Let's give it time to chill." Vaughn said. He was putting off having to drink. He needed his head clear for tonight. He kissed Lauren and began to lead her over to the couch. She pulled back from him.

            "Oh I think it is probably cold enough. Let me pour us a drink." She insisted as she slipped out of his grip and walked over to the kitchen.  She had to make sure Vaughn wasn't watching her every move so that she could slip the sleeping draft into his glass. "Michael, I bought a new CD.  Will you put it on? It's over there next to my jacket." Lauren nodded her head in the direction of the chair she had draped her jacket on earlier.

            Vaughn looked over at the chair and saw a bag next to Lauren's jacket.  He walked over, picked up the bag, and unwrapped the CD as he headed over to the stereo.  He pushed the button to stop the currently playing CD.  He then carefully took out the old CD, put in the new one and pushed play. He turned around just in time to find Lauren standing behind him. She held up a golden, bubbling glass to him and smiled.  He smiled back at her as he took it.

            "Here's to many more years filled with love." Lauren toasted.

            "To love." Vaughn raised his glass and gently tapped hers. Vaughn wasn't a fan of champagne. Normally he had to choke it down.  It must have been his nerves because he gulped down the entire glass in one shot and went to kitchen to get another.  He told himself he would stop after this glass. The last one didn't steel his nerves as much as he would have liked.

            Lauren knew that the draft would be fast acting. She had to hurry to get him to a place where he could pass out.  She walked up behind him and sat her glass down on the counter.  He turned around still drinking from his glass. Lauren took the glass from him and sat it down next to hers. She slowly began to unbutton his shirt and slipped if off of his shoulders.  Vaughn bent down and took her mouth into his. She moved from his lips and softly placed kisses down his neck and across his chest.

            Lauren took Vaughn's hand and led him down the hall towards their bedroom.  She stopped him at the foot of the bed and pushed him down on his back. She climbed on top of him and once again kissed him.  She stopped when she felt his lips go limp.  She looked up to find his eyes shut and his breathing had slowed to a steady pace.  He was out.  She smiled and climbed off of him.  She pulled the covers up over him, checked his pulse to make sure he had a strong heartbeat (she didn't need him dying on her.), and walked out of the room.  She went out into the living room where she had left her purse.  She found it under her jacket, opened it and pulled out her cell phone.  She turned back towards the hall to make sure that Vaughn hadn't woken up and could come out to overhear her. She quickly dialed the number. Sark answered on the second ring.

            "I've taken care of your problem." She said and hung up before Sark could reply. She put the phone back into her purse and headed back into the bedroom.  Happy to see that Vaughn was still out, she walked into the bathroom.  She turned on the water in the shower and got undressed.  The hot water pounded down her back as she washed away the events of the night.

End of chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

THE SAFE HOUSE 23:00

            Jack was finishing up a phone call when Sydney came out of the bedroom.  She had been getting ready and now looked over at her father for a sign that they were still going on with the plans for tonight.  He answered her by giving at nod of his head and moved toward the front door.

            "Everything's all set.  The only thing missing is Vaughn."Jack said impatiently.

            "It's not like Vaughn to be late. Something must have held him up." Weiss quickly jumped to his defense.  He and Sydney were now pulling on their jackets. 

            "Well, we need to move out. Let's go." Jack ordered as he opened the door.

            "He'll be here." Weiss tried to reassure him, but Jack was already out the door and down the front steps.  Weiss looked back at Sydney. She was heading past him and out the door as well.

            "Sydney, I know he would want to help. Something's happened or else he'd be here." Weiss said.

            "Maybe he had a change of heart ." She said. She watched Weiss' reaction as she knew he wouldn't miss her double meaning.  She walked passed him and out the door to follow her father to the car. Jack had already gotten in and started the engine. Sydney climbed into the passenger seat, which left Weiss to take his place in the back. They pulled away from the safe house and headed for the where house and, with any luck, some answers.

CENTRAL L.A.

            Jack turned off the headlights and coasted the car up to the wherehouse.  He kept a keen eye on his surroundings and he noticed that no other cars were in sight.  In fact , Jack felt as if they were the last humans on earth.  It was a clear night, which is strange for a city that usually has a blanket of smog hover over it.  Tonight however, Jack was able to see all the pinpoint lights twinkling down at him. 

            Weiss spent the entire drive worried about Vaughn.  He had practically wore out the keypad on his cell phone dialing Vaughn's number every other minute.  Weiss tried one more time to get Vaughn and hung up when his voice mail came on.  Weiss was not going to leave another message.  He disconnected the call and punched the leather seat in frustration. 

            Sydney knew how worried Weiss was for his friend.  Truth be told, she was worried for Vaughn a little as well.  She looked back at Weiss and gave him a reassuring smile.  It didn't help. Sydney spent most of the drive thinking about her dad and how close he was to being pushed over the edge.  In all the times that Sydney worked alongside her dad at SD-6 or the CIA, she never knew him to be this reckless.  Jack's desperation to find out what happened to her during her missing time, she fears, is causing him to take a great risk on a piece of information that came from God knows where.  This was not like her father at all.  Jack would have gone to great lengths to pick apart any bit of information until he was quite sure of it's reliability.  This was all moving way to fast for Sydney, who like her father, was always throughough when it came to missions.  She felt like this was being thrown together at the last minute and everything about tonight gave Sydney an uneasy feeling.  

            Jack turned to Sydney and Weiss and began to go over the details of their mission one last time.

            "Ok. Sydney you and I will enter the building on the north side. Weiss I want you to take position over there." Jack pointed to a smaller building next to the wherehouse.

            "You should be able to get a clear view of the wherehouse from there. Make sure you both have you ear pieces in, I want us all to be able to keep in contact with each other at all time." Jack waited for Sydney and Weiss to adjust their earpieces.  They all did one last weapons check.

            "Everybody clear on the where they should be and what they should be doing?" He waited for confirmation from Sydney and Weiss.  They both nodded that they were as ready as they were going to be.

            "O.k. then, let's go." Jack popped open his door and got out. Sydney followed closely and Weiss quickly headed over to take his place and to watch for anything that moved in Jack and Sydney's direction.

            Jack and Sydney hurried to the north side of the building where the loading dock was.  Jack began picking the lock of the huge metal roll up door. Sydney kept lookout.  It took several seconds before she heard the click of the lock disengaging and her and Jack slipped into the building.

            "We're in." Sydney quietly spoke into her com link to give Weiss an update.

            "Copy that. So far so good.  I see no sign of life out here." Weiss answered back.

            "We're clear here and will be moving into the main part of the building." Sydney and Jack moved through the loading area quickly and stopped for a moment at the door that would take them into the heart of the building.

            "Through this door should be a hallway.  We go left until we come up to a double door about half way down.  Through the double door is a smaller office and that is where they are keeping the doctor." Jack said just above a whisper.

            Sydney was more than a little apprehensive at this point.  So far, it had seemed all too easy to penetrate this facility and get as far as they had gotten without a single hint of trouble.  She was relived that there was no trouble so far but it still sent waves of warning up her spine. It had been too easy. If this man being held is important enough for whoever took him in the first place wants him back, then why hadn't they guarded him a more heavily. Sydney wanted to point this out to her dad but they needed to move quickly and they didn't have to time sit and chat about her uneasiness.  They proceeded into the hallway and turned left.

            The double doors had been exactly where they were supposed to be.  Jack and Sydney  carefully slipped through the door and hurried through the room stopping at the door that led to the small office.  

            Jack crouched on the left side of the door and Sydney flanked him on the right.  Jack put his ear up to the cool grain of the door and pushed hard against it trying to hear anything on the other side.  The only thing he could make were muffled sounds.  No words and worse, no indication of how many people might me in there.  Jack used hand signals that told Sydney that he was going in and that she is to stay back and cover him.  She nodded and gave him a look that told him to be careful.

            Jack quietly turned the knob and slowly began to push the door open.  He crouched down as low as he could get making himself as small of a target as he could.  He swept the room letting his gun lead his eyes to all the dark little corners of the room. Satisfied that the room was clear enough to enter be crept in.  Sydney moved swiftly to the left side where her father had been and began sweeping the room as well.

            The room had been small.  Made even smaller with the fact that it was dark.  It had looked as if was a normal business office.  It had everything a normal office would have. A computer desk and chair. A filing cabinet.  It wasn't until Sydney had made it all the way into the office and stopped to see what her father was looking at, the she realized that this wasn't a normal office at all.  Sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair, bleeding from his head was Vaughn.

End of Chapter 13


End file.
